Our Time Here is Limited: What Are You Going To Do Before You Die?

The Holy Spirit spoke to me last night as I was writing a e-mail to a friend. I was responding to her statement on the sad news of Michael Jackson's passing. The Holy Spirit led me to write, that everyday we go to bed and wake up, we should praise the Lord for allowing us to see another day.

The 9 people that died in the DC Metro accident had no idea that they were not going to make it home that day. They did not have time to say good bye to their families or friends. They were not able to make peace or mend arguments/disputes or broken relationships. And we also don't know if they had a chance to repent, receive salvation and make things right with God. The same goes for the well known individuals in the media that died this week.

I pray that this word will be a reminder that we do not have much time on this earth. Please take the time to think about those you have offended and ask for their forgiveness. Also forgive those who have offended you. Reach out to those friends and family members that you have not talked to in awhile and tell them how much they mean to you. Thank God for His mercy and grace for keeping you here to fix your wrongs and make them right.

Think about the legacy you would want to leave behind for your love ones. Think about what people are going to remember you for and the impact you had on their lives while you were here. But the most important of them all is to consider if you are being a good steward of the gifts and talents God has given you. The things and people of this world will pass away but the Word of God will never end. I encourage you to tell people about God and His goodness, so that they can get in on this freedom before their time is up.

Please think about all these things and pray that the Holy Spirit leads you in the direction you should be heading before it's to late.

Matthew 24: 35-36 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only

Waiting is not a Passive Word

By Nicole West

Stormrider Introduction:

A fellow stormrider would like to share a word on waiting. This is truly a great word as it speaks to what, we think, a lot of people are going through right now. Thanks to Nicole for blessing and edifying all of us with this Holy Spirit filled message.

Right now I am facing some serious challenges in my job. Challenges that cause me to question God and myself (come on let’s not get too spiritual and act like we don’t question God!) – did I make the right decision? Am I where I need to be? Did I hear Him right? Each morning seems to be another climb as I struggle to get up and go into that office yet again. Don’t be deceived – I am grateful for the job and the paycheck, but my heart feels so unfulfilled. Oh, but in the midst of my tears (yes, sobbing, snotty-nosed, red-eyed tears!!), I can hear the voice of God through the revelation of His word:

I ask: “Lord, why am I here? How is this where I am supposed to be?”

“…you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things,” the Lord responds

“Okay, well if this is part of your plan, then what do you expect from me while I am in this uncomfortable situation? This is so hard, and in my opinion completely unnecessary!” I say.

Again, He responds, His voice filled with peace and pure love, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Furthermore, He adds, “they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

My heart jumps when I think about how thoroughly he loves me and that He would guide my path and comfort me with His word and increase my faith muscle when I begin to falter. In my situation, God has ministered to me and told me through his Word, through sermons over the past couple weeks,and through praying in the spirit, that I must wait.But what does God require of us when we wait?Often when we think of the word wait, we think of the passive passing of time. Counting minutes, hours, days or months until “something” happens. For some of us, we wait impatiently for the Lord to give us a wife or husband, for others it’s a new job, for others maybe it’s peace, and for me, as I’ve said, it’s waiting to understand why I am in this job and in this city. Either way, God puts the word wait in the Bible more times than I have time to count – so He must think it’s important!

So what does it mean to wait? Look at the following scriptures…

Psalm 119:166
I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (New International Version)
4I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— 6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (emphasis mine)

Dear friend, the Lord commands us to wait as He works His mighty hand in our lives. But this doesn’t mean that we sit back and kick it, living in sin or ignoring the power of our gifts through the Holy Spirit. It means that we fervently seek him, follow His holy commands, and use our spiritual gifts as evidence of our love for Him.

Let’s promise to run toward Him – the only One we should be running toward - our hearts waiting patiently, trusting in His perfect will. Let’s expect that we will be strengthened. Let’s claim forcefully and unrelentingly the promises of God because He said it. Let’s wait actively and not passively. Thank you, Jesus!

A Reader's Testimony

This month we asked to hear from you. We wanted to know how the Lord has blessed you and kept you. The following is a testimony from one of our readers.

I am blessed,

For the past 22 years I have been in the USA as a semi-legal immigrant. I was born in Liberia and came to the US at the age of 3. I had a normal American childhood, very unaware of my fragile status in the US. This all changed when I was graduating high school and found that I was unable to receive financial aid because I was not born here and do not have a permanent status in the United States. Beyond this limitation the Lord removed barriers, sent angels which allowed me to graduate within 4 years with a minimal amount of college debt. AMEN!

Since then, I've always had employment, even though my employers were not sure if I would be legally allowed to work after the annual expiration of my status. My friends would discuss traveling abroad and I would sit silent knowing that I could not leave the country. This year everything came to a head when my differed enforced departure was expiring within 10 days and we had not heard anything regarding an extension, which meant I would need to leave the country. My company was discussing transitioning my duties and figuring out if they can rehire me in another country. Mind you, I had not left the country since I was 3! Anyways, through my doubts and fears the Lord allowed an extension to be granted for Liberians! I had another year to figure it out. After the last minute alarms, my job decided to sponsor my employment and I found out the application is approved for 3 YEARS!!! I am THANKING GOD for coming through as he always does! I can now leave the country, I have a status, and some time so that the other pending applications for permanent residency can come off the very long waiting lists. GOD IS GOOD!

What a awesome testimony! Please continue to e-mail us with your testimonies, exhortations, scriptures and anything else the Lord has laid on your heart to share. Who knows it might be a word that will really touch someone. God Bless!

The Beauty and Promises of Psalm 23 (Most Popular Post)

This was one of our most popular post last year. It still speaks to my heart when I read it and reveals to me God's unchanging love and protection for His children. Click on the link to read it again. If this is your first time reading this post please meditate on it and receive the blessing from this beautiful passage from God's word.
The Beauty and Promises of Psalm 23

We Want to Hear From You!!!!!

Okay readers, now it's your turn. We want to hear from you. We want to know how God is working in your life. We want to know which post is your favorite, which one motivated you and which one touched your heart.

Please submit your testimonies, words of encouragement, a word you have received from God, an article that will edify our readers, pictures, drawings or anything else that you would like to express.

Send all of your entries to stormridersunite@gmail.com.

This is our one year anniversary and we want to highlight you, our reader, and show the world what our God is doing in the lives of His people. Thank you and Keep Riding the Storm!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Lord for all you’ve done for us!

Praise be to God! He is our Faithful Friend, Provider, Healer, Strong tower, Refuge and Strength! He is Great and worthy to be praised! Our souls jump at the name of Jesus and are peaceful at the whisper of the Holy Spirit!

Twelve months ago my sister and I moved to NYC with high hopes and big dreams and what we found when we got here was that God is always in control! We found that we had no power in ourselves to do anything for ourselves but that it is God’s grace and mercy that sustained us. It is one thing to hear and know this concept; it is another thing to experience the process of being broken and remade in His perfect image.

It was through our process of being broken and tried that this very blog was birthed. God separated us from all distraction and gave us this very simple task; to tell of His goodness and mercy and share His heart with you. He commissioned us to write the words given to us by His Holy Spirit that you (and us as well) would be blessed.

During the 12 months that we have spent in NY, we have grown tremendously in the Lord. We praise Him for the hard times and the good times. There were times when we thought about giving up and moving back to Maryland but God said, “Wait, I have something for you, I am taking care of you, I will never leave you”. So we cleaved to His words and believed Him for what He was going to do in our lives. It has not been easy, but we have had a marvelous outpouring of His Spirit filled with the peace that passes all understanding! There are truly not enough words to express the goodness of the Lord towards us! God paid our rent when we weren’t working! We survived NYC for almost 1 year without steady income! God put food on our table, God spoke to friends and family who came to our aid without us even asking or them knowing what we were going through! God provided finances from the most unexpected places! God even allowed us to bless others financially out of what we thought was our nothingness. God healed us when we were sick and could not afford medicine or a doctor visit. He blessed us with a church of believers that pray and worship and help hold us up when we were down. If you ever wonder why we love the Lord so much, I am sure by now you can see why!

He is Wonderful! His name is Wonderful! He is our God and we are His people. We know without a shadow of a doubt that He is real! He hears our cries and answers us! He makes us strong when we are weak! He gives us a word in season to edify our spirits, hearts and our minds. We know that our redeemer lives! We know that the Bible that we read is alive and speaks good things to us! The Lord is Good and His Grace and Mercy endures forever!

Thank you Lord for all you’ve done for us!